Secret Chocolate Fantasy Cake

"This magnificent cake gets it's 'kick' from the liqueurs in both the cake and the icing. The longer it's around the more potent it gets, so I make it and freeze it and simply bring it to room temperature before dazzling my guests !"

Directions

Pour batter into the greased and floured pans of you choice, and bake as directed on the cake box or until a knife inserted into the middle comes out clean. Wait until it's completely cool to frost.

For the frosting: Cream the butter. Add 1/2 of the powdered sugar, blend well. Add the cocoa and vanilla, and start pouring the Bailey's over the icing while your beaters beat in the rest of the sugar. Keep adding Bailey's until you have wonderfully creamy icing.

Frost the cake (I like to press chopped nuts into the fresh icing). It's best served after a day or two, but even better to make it up to 6 months ahead of your special event, freeze it, and simply bring to room temperature. What a kick !

A cake that calls for two full cups of three different liqueurs certainly aroused my curiosity! Knowing this would be awfully rich, I chose not to include the chocolate chips but aside from that I made the cake exactly as directed. I baked it in two 9" layer cake pans, and used the frosting on top and in between the layers. Chopped, toasted hazelnuts and Hershey's Almond Kisses garnished the top. It was a lovely and impressive presentation! Uncertain of all that liqueur, I skeptically tasted a slice before I gave it to hubs to take to the office. Wow! It was much better than I expected. It wasn't as "boozy" as I thought it would be and the three different flavored liqueurs all blended nicely into something really unique. The frosting was creamy and fluffy, almost mousse like, and complimented the cake nicely. Magnificent, different, moist and flavorful cake!

I made two of these cakes. Put one in the freezer. As it was said, its a rich cake. Actually too rich to enjoy. If I had it to do over I would leave out the chocolate chips. They are not needed and they were just too much! Something bland should be served with this cake such as dream whip or whipped cream with very little sugar or a bit of icecream to cut some of the chocolate. Actually I was somewhat dissappointed that after a great meal it was just too rich to enjoy.

A truly exceptional and decadent cake! I didn't have enough hazelnut liqueur so I made up the difference with amaretto. This is so rich and chocolately--and that frosting! I nearly swooned every time I lifted the cake cover. Fabulous--(and it does indeed freeze very well.)

i made this cake for the office st. paddy's potluck, using 1 cup of bailey's irish cream instead for the occasion. i thought it might turn out too sweet since bailey's is a bit sweet to begin with but it turned out just fine. i baked it in a 10 inch pan and it took about 50 minutes. you can definitely tell there is liquor in the cake, and i think that's what everyone loved about this!

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

**Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available nutrient data.

(-)Information is not currently available for this nutrient. If you are following a medically restrictive diet, please consult your doctor or registered dietitian before preparing this recipe for personal consumption.